Police: Las Vegas man caused 12-car pileup to kill pregnant girlfriend

A Las Vegas man has been arrested and charged with murder after being accused of intentionally causing a 12-car pileup in an effort to kill his pregnant girlfriend.

Key Takeaways:

• Nineteen-year-old Jose Gutierrez was the driver in a multi-vehicle accident that left 12 cars damaged and three people dead, including his girlfriend's preborn baby.

• Police say Gutierrez intentionally caused the accident in an effort to kill 20-year-old Adilene Duran Rincon.

• Rincon's family said she was three months pregnant.

The Details:

According to police, around 3:30 pm on November 18, Jose Gutierrez intentionally plowed his car into a group of 11 cars waiting at a stoplight for the purpose of killing his pregnant girlfriend, Adilene Rincon, who was in the passenger seat.

Gutierrez has been charged with four counts of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm. A report from the New York Post stated Gutierrez was driving at 100 mph before the accident, but a report from 8 News Now stated that he was driving 71 mph and "accelerated rapidly from 9 mph within five seconds."

Authorities say he never attempted to slow down. Rincon was killed along with her preborn child, as well as another driver, 38-year-old Edward Garcia.

"Rincon was three months pregnant, her family confirmed and documents said," noted 8 News Now. "She and Gutierrez had dated for two years." The outlet also stated the car belonged to Rincon's mother.

Floyd Hilliard, 45, was one of the surviving injured drivers. “I did not see the driver coming,” Hillard told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He had to be going at least 80 miles per hour. A couple of people were ejected from their cars. That’s how fast he was going. I did not know what was going on. Then, to get out of the car and see people on the ground, it was scary.”

Hilliard had to be hospitalized with a brain bleed, along with his fiancée, Aljena Jackson, but both survived. He believes it was because the cars behind him took most of the force.

"If those cars hadn’t been there, I probably wouldn’t be able to talk to you right now," he said.

Zoom In:

“We believe that this act on the defendant’s part was intentional,” Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said. “We believe he was not impaired by alcohol or drugs and therefore we believe on all the evidence to date, including a very descriptive video, that his actions were intentional, which gives rise to a charge of murder."

While prosecutors and police believe the intent was to kill Rincon, it's still not yet clear why.

“He has to accept what he did, what happened,” Gabriela Rincon, Rincon's mother, said. “God is the only one (who) knows why."

In April, a female, presumably Rincon, called police in tears, saying a male had hit her. When police arrived, Gutierrez told them, “I’ll kill you,” and “I’ll shoot you.” Gutierrez was originally charged with a felony, but pled guilty to charges of one misdemeanor count of resisting a public officer. Gutierrez was ordered to complete eight hours of "impulse control counseling" and completed this in September, according to 8 News Now. In October, he had been stopped for speeding; that charge was reduced as well.

Regarding the collision that ended three lives, the outlet reported:

Gutierrez, who did not remember the collision itself, told officers he had not consumed alcohol or marijuana in the past week, though an officer noted Gutierrez displayed “bloodshot and watery” eyes. Gutierrez later told police he smoked his vape pen earlier in the day and that he suffers from seizures....

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Rincon's family.

The Bottom Line:

Homicide is one of the leading causes of death among pregnant women in the United States, and these crimes are often linked to domestic violence, including situations in which women refuse to abort their children at the request of a partner.

If you are a victim of domestic violence, visit thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-SAFE.